Chapter 1: The Reunion

Elvis’s Pov

Balsamo’s mansion, Sicily Italy.

Dressed in a black suit and a fancy mask, I step out of the black Maserati, adjust my suit, and check to confirm that the earplug is intact. I let out a heavy sigh. “Someone is getting cold feet” Ben’s voice sounds mockingly from the earplug. “Dude, shut up, I am trying to get a breather here” I growly replied at Ben’s teases.

“Chill man, don’t listen to Ben, he is just being grumpy about his sleep. Just go do your thing, we’ll be done in 30 minutes. All you have to do is get the blueprint from the host’s system. And……. Viola, easy peasy. Chris assures.

“Of course, easier said than done.” I scoff. “Relax, you’ll be fine. We’ll be on the lookout for you.” Ben says after taking a sip of coffee in a black van not far from the Balsamo’s residence.  “Okay, guys let’s do this.” I said to them before heading towards the mansion holding the ball where two bodyguards stood alert. On getting to the door, I offered my invite under the name ‘Mateo Von Eduardo’ a son to a very old acquaintance of the Balsamo family. After the verification, I got into the mansion where I was welcomed with a massive hall and a glass of champagne.  One of the major getaways I have is the fact that this is a mask-themed ballroom party. Holding the glass of champagne , I watch everyone vigilantly. It wasn’t hard to spot the host and his family but I am yet to find out the buyer of the blueprints.

The Balsamo takes extra security when it comes to business and they don’t sign any contract without a heavy price and costly transaction. They are greedy and bloodthirsty mafias who are merciless and cunning in their way of business. Over the years, they have strictly kept the identities and information of their buyers safe. But that hasn’t been able to escape my eyes as a professional Hacker. Every information I get about the buyers is always a useful tool for the Keegans.

The Keegans are the underdogs in the mafia world. They rob and steal from the top mafias. They have never been caught due to their smart resources and manpower. It’s been three years since I have been walking for the Keegans. Every mission I carried out for them has been successful. However, every mission is always backed up with sufficient information and plans. This has always been our way. A carefully plan mission except this one. Everything about this, screams danger and I keep getting a bad feeling. Few days ago, I had opted out of this mission but only to get threatened with my brother’s life. I had no choice but to succumb and this is why I am here at the moment.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” a deep husky voice brought me back from my thoughts. I searched around for what he was referring to because my eye caught sight of the painting within a closer distance to me.

“Yes, indeed it is,” I replied trying to play along with the conversation before I stared to observe the man closely. From his build, the man should be 6’8 inches tall in comparison to my barely 5'6 inches height. His shoulders are broad and bulky. Though I couldn't get a clear view of his face because of the mask, his jawlines are perfectly shaped. His dark brown hair is neatly moussed up. The man has the most captivating eyes I have ever seen. His slightly golden hazel eyes draw me in. For a moment I was lost in admiration. I stared in awe at the beautiful creation of a man, curiosity took over me. I’ll love to see the face behind the red mask and having him in bed won’t be a bad idea. Just by staring at his lower half, I can tell that he’ll be great in bed. ‘Ugh, I’ve got a task at hand.’ I thought finally bringing my attention back to him. “Marie Rey's artworks are always a beauty to behold.” Taking the final sip of his wine.

“I’m Pedro, what’s yours?” He asks. “Mateo, it’s nice to meet you, Pedro.” I answered.  “Amore, the pleasure is mine”. He smiles and then drops his empty glass on a passing tray. His deep voice is so soft when he speaks and his intonation is fluent without any accent. He’s an Italian man, his hair and eyes gave it away but his accent is smooth like a British man's.

“If I may……. Would you like to dance?” He asks extending his large hand towards me. “Uhm….. I don’t think so.” I replied stepping away. “Ohh c’mon. you’ll love it.” He insists, closing in on me.

“Hey, look I don’t mean to reject you. It’s just…. I don’t know how to dance and ballroom dance isn’t my thing.” I concluded hoping he would give up. After staring at me for what seemed like two minutes. Suddenly he takes my glass and sets it on a passing tray. Then he spoke. “About that, I will teach you. Rest assured you are in safe hands. And a five-minute dance will do you no harm.” He says lending out his hands again.

‘Hmm, quite the persistent one, might as well enjoy this’. I take his hand and follow through as he leads me to the dance floor. I didn’t notice the large difference in our height and body size till our bodies were pressed against each other on the dance floor. My body fit right into his hands. The fixed eye contact between us is sending flirtatious signals to our bodies. Just as it was starting to get good with the strong tension between us, and our hands on each other.  I hear a voice from my earplug. “Elvis, are you there, do you copy” Chris asked with worries evident in his voice. This brought me back to my senses.

I stopped dancing and left the dance floor with the excuse of using the restroom. Before exiting the room, I took a last glaze at Pedro’s face on the dance floor. I couldn't read his expression, but I could see a smirk play on his lips. ‘It was nice knowing you.’ I mouthed before going out of sight. Let’s just get out of here. Knocking out a guard and getting his security pass was the easiest part and I found the perfect guard with the pass. “Dude, I’m on my way to the third floor.” I spoke “Where is the location of Fredo’s office” I asked. “The last office at the far end of the hallway on the third floor.” Ben replied.  “Good, I’m in,” I said. Surprisingly, there isn’t any security personnel on the third floor. But every door is guarded by digital codes and cameras. My partners are in control of the camera and codes. After entering the supposed passcode to the room. The door to the office opened.

 I search around with my eyes checking for unknown or hidden traps. Having confirmed the existence of no traps, I proceeded to search for Fredo’s MacBook. “Dude is into some BDSM shit” I spoke after finding some sex toys, whips, chains, and handcuffs in a box. “Heard, he is into some weird shits and he’s got a fetish for Asians.” Chris says trying to suppress his laughter but Ben’s squeaks and giggles just won’t help. “it’s just some rumors, pay no attention to it. Just get us the blueprint and we are out of here.”

I open the door to the inner office and there lies the stuff I have been searching for, Fredo’s MacBook that holds the blueprints of the Russian missiles. “Found it” I hurriedly attach the flash drive to the system and transfer the only file in the storage system to the drive. “It’s done, guys, I’ll be out in a minute” I announce heading towards the door. ‘I am taking a break after this’. Just as I was about to get out of the room, a loud noise from the other end of the call caught my attention.  I paused then I called out “Hello, what happened? Guys, are you okay?...... hello! Is anyone there? Can anyone hear me?” the call signal was cracking up and the reception is starting to go bad.

“Guys, say something!!!” I shouted. Seconds later, I hear a shallow breathing across the call. Someone finally spoke. “Fuck! Someone is on to us. Elvis, you need to get out of there right now.” He explained with his trembling voice.

“What about Chris? Where is he?” I asked baring managing to control my fears. “Chris is dead, I am currently being chased and every access to the backups has been blocked. Elvis, you need to get out as soon as you can.” This was all he could say before the signal glitch happened. When the reception is back, before I could ask Ben about his status. I heard his panicked voice across the phone “Damn! fucking dead end” Ben cursed and in the next moment. I hear loud gunshots. The heavy sound of the gun sends a shiver down my spine.

Realizing that my partners are dead, they are probably on the way here to find me.  I exited the office and took large strides down the hallway, this time I took the stairs instead of the Lift I had taken earlier. Just as I got to the last turn to the second floor. A guard double-crossed me. He probably suspects me because of my hasty moves. His build was like that of a hulk.  He lurches forward to attack me. It was a real struggle between I and the armed guard, the major instruments in the Cleaner’s storage room were enough to fight the guard. After so much fight, I finally knocked him out with a mop stick. I took his gun and headed towards the ground floor. By now, news about me must have probably spread around the mansion. But the Balsamo family values their reputation too much, they won’t announce to the guests about the presence of an intruder in their territory, rather they will handle it private.

It’s why they cut off our links to back up and they could easily get rid of my partners privately. As long as I have the flash drive, even if I get caught, I could use it as leverage to save myself. I guess the Keegans have abandoned me to my fate because none of the backups even attempted to reach out to me. I am all on my own. I thought it wasn’t going to hurt, but I can't help but feel betrayed. This is the way of the Keegans. If one is worth saving, he’ll be saved, but if one is lost on a mission and beyond saving, surely, he will be abandoned. Even if one manages to escape and his identity gets exposed in the process, The Keegans will personally get rid of him because he will now be seen as a traitor and a threat to the organization.

On getting to the ground floor, I opened the door to the large kitchen filled with busy chefs and waiters. This is the perfect room for an escape.  I quicken up my paces heading towards the end of the room. It wasn't long after before two guards began to chase me down the large filled-up rooms. The chase isn’t a smooth one because the room is filled with a lot of people and many equipment and amenities. I crashed into a head chef but I quickly got up and continued running leaving behind the angry chef who cursed frustrated in Italian.

Finally, at the end corner of the room is a small door that leads to the yard where the food wastes are been disposed. Running through the yard is easy. I must applaud my mask, after all that had happened; my mask is yet to fall off.  Great, that way my identity will not be revealed. With the two guards barely catching up to me, I finally found a door that led to a massive garage. The large garage is filled with expensive cars, superbikes, and aircraft that match my taste in automobiles. I spot a black superbike.  It’s a BMW S 1000, definitely the latest design and the key to my successful escape. Fredo is gonna be so mad but it’ll be fun. I need to get out of here for the sake of my brother. His life is in the hands of the Keegans. Adios fellas. As I held the hand clutch of the superbike, my hope shattered after hearing multiple sounds of a gun being taken off safety.

“Fuck! I am surrounded.” I curse under my breath. Looking around, the reality set in when I realized there is no means of escape. Me against fifteen armed men, there is no way I can take all of them down, I am better off surrendering. I raised my hands to surrender, dropping the pistol in my hand. This is fucked up! Is this the part where I die?  Am I going to die without getting to see my brother? No, this can't be my end.

I am lost in thought thinking about what next to do. Whether to plead for my life or to use the flash as leverage. Suddenly, everyone's attention focused on the men who had earlier been chasing me. I stare in utter shock at their dead bodies lying lifeless on the floor after they’ve both being shot directly in the head by a man wearing a mask.

Wait a minute, why does this man feel so familiar? It’s been a hectic night. Running through the list of the people I have met tonight, there is a unique man among them. What’s his name again? Right, it’s Pedro with the red mask and the same man is walking majestically towards me. The same man but with a different aura. Dark and intimidating aura emmiting from him as he gets closer. He is so different from the man I met in the ballroom. His gaze is cold and scary. Every single step he takes declares a domineering and terrifying aura. I feel like a prey at the mercy of a cruel predator. What have I gotten myself into? He is not a Balsamo. Or could he be a hidden son of the family? But that’s not possible. I am fully aware of every single member of the Balsamo family and every single business partner they ever made a transaction with except today’s buyer. Could he be the buyer, whose identity is so private we didn’t even get a hint of his name? Fuck, I am so dead. Have I been playing with the devil all this time thinking he was just an ordinary man? Sure enough, everyone who attended the party is not ordinary in the dark world. I am so freaked out and lost in thought to notice the man’s presence right in front of me.      

“Mio Caro, it’s been a while since we met. I must say leaving me on the dance floor is very rude of a beautiful young man like you.” He spoke tenderly touching my face so I could focus on him.

“My love, didn’t you feel the spark between us? Of course, you do because people will kill to get in my bed. And I’d bet that I am the most handsome man you have ever met.” He says tugging at the lace of my mask.  I responded with my head, turning my face to get his hands off my face. “What? You don’t like me?” He asked. “What is it that you don’t like?” I didn’t say a word.

He reaches for his hair before asking again “My hair?” I still refuse to speak. “My body? It’s quite fit though.” He says touching his abs and muscles. I finally spoke “Mr. Pedro, it's……..” I got cut off by him. “Hold on, you haven’t seen my face. I reckon you’ll change your mind”. What’s this feeling? It feels like we’ve met before. In my next moment. Pedro reaches for his mask and rips it off his face. Now I see where this odd sense of familiarity is from staring at the face before me “Ni….Nic…. Nickolai???” I stutter in outmost shock. He takes out a gun and before I could say anything….. I feel an overwhelming pain in my right arm after being shot by him. Suddenly I feel lightheaded and my legs are starting to go weak. I collapse to the ground as I lose consciousness. Before losing my full consciousness, I hear Pedro or should I say Nickolai ordering his men. “We need to leave now. Balsamo’s men are still on the search”.  I feel Nickolai's hands on my face before darkness takes over.